Briefs

Economy August 11, 2014 01:00

By THE NATION

Central bank exec reshuffle

Following the appointments of Krirk Vanikkul and Salinee Wangtal as the chairmen of specialised financial institutions by the National Council for Peace and Order, the Bank of Thailand’s board of directors has decided to appoint them as advisers for good governance at the central bank. Tongurai Limpiti, deputy governor for Corporate Support Services and Banknote Management, will become deputy governor for Financial Institutions Stability and Paiboon Kittisrikangwan will be promoted to deputy governor for Corporate Support Services and Banknote Management.

Mathee Supapongse will be promoted to assistant governor of the Monetary Policy Group and Ronadol Numnonda will be promoted to assistant governor of the Supervision Group.

Chirathep Senivongs na Ayudhya, senior director of the Corporate Communications Department, has been appointed as spokesman.

All appointments take effect on Friday.

Rice export ‘can hit 9m tonnes'

Chukiet Opaswong, honorary president of the Rice Exporters Association, said last week that there is good possibility of Thailand exceeding its rice export target of 9 million tonnes this year, but not reaching 10 million tonnes.

Higher exports have pushed the price of new rice to be released by the year-end up to about Bt8,500 per tonne, which is in line with what the junta wants the price to be.

Major export markets are also demanding fresh rice and not from the stockpile.

The release of 18 million tonnes of old rice in the inventory should be conducted by classifying the grains according to quality with cooperation from the private sector. Any bid for the old rice should not cause the price of the newly released rice to fall. The quantity of rice that goes up for auction should not be more than 200,000 tonnes each time.

Japanese investment in China slumps

Direct investment by Japanese companies in China dropped 32.5 per cent to US$9.1 billion (Bt293 billion) last year, while investment in Asean rose 2.2 times to $23.6 billion, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation.

In 2012, direct investment in China stood at $13.4 billion, exceeding the $10.6 billion spent that year in Asean, but in 2013, Asean overtook China, according to the Jetro Global Trade and Investment Report. Japanese companies are accelerating moves to Southeast Asia due to the deteriorating relationship between Japan and China and an increase in China’s labour costs.

Direct investment includes acquiring foreign companies or building local plants. In 2013, total direct investment by Japanese firms increased by 10.4 per cent to $135 billion, a record high since $130.8 billion in 2008. – The Yomiuri Shimbun